July 19, 2016

Dear Aika Robredo

Aika, I am writing this article not for your sake, but for the sake of your great father Jesse Robredo.

Tara at nang matapos na ito. Maglalaba pa ako.

But first, let me provide some context.

At around 4:00 PM of 18 July 2016, ABS-CBN reporter Alfonso Tomas “Atom” Araullo wrote a facebook post [FB] that reads:

Every once in a while, I would encounter posts in my feed from a certain online outfit called "The Maharlikan," usually through the Facebook group "Juan Nationalist." It is becoming so common that I feel I should start a discussion.

Please know that many of their posts appear completely made up. I know because I tried verifying claims from their site on a few occasions. I am sure that some headlines are fabricated, some quotations are pulled out of thin air, and some photos are misrepresented. These are then deftly mixed with authentic news gathered from other organizations to create an illusion of legitimacy.

The group does not have a published set of editors or writers. It is also impossible to get in touch with them for feedback. Judging from their content, I think it may be a sophisticated black propaganda operation. What worries me is they have hundreds of thousands of followers, some of them friends and even colleagues from the news. Guys, if you know better, please prove me wrong.

There are many more groups and sites that engage in the same racket. The proliferation of fake news on the internet has become an epidemic, and anyone can fall victim. We have to take extra precaution before spreading these things, as responsible social media users.

Scrolling down the comments section, I found your reply posted at around 5:00 PM of the same day that reads:

Aika Robredo: Thinking Pinoy and Get Real Philippines!

After receiving some rectification from some Facebook users, you edited your post to remove the exclamation point.

So let me just state the issue more clearly:

Some social media entities publish news that are completely made up, but they are “deftly mixed” with authentic news from other sources to create an illusion of legitimacy, and you think ThinkingPinoy is one of these.

These social media entities do not publish the names of their editors and writers and there’s no way to contact them for feedback, and you think ThinkingPinoy is one of these.

They are most likely sophisticated black propaganda operations, and you think ThinkingPinoy is one of these.

Now, Aika, let me address those points one by one.

A: On TP is “completely made up”

You graduated from the Ateneo so I think you are well-versed in Logic. Having to write this section pains me because I thought you are one of the last people who needs to be schooled on it. Oh well, let’s just get on with it.

Every article can be broken down into a collection of premise-conclusion pairs, and an article becomes dubious if one of the following is true:

The premises are false.

The logic used to arrive at the conclusion is faulty.

ThinkingPinoy derives his premises from two sources:

1. Websites that are generally regarded as reputable. The following is an exhaustive list of TP sources:

Leni’s six-page Full Disclosure Bill bill filed in July 2013 [HB 19] was a very straightforward piece of legislation. If enacted, HB 19 would have forced the entire government to disclose everything about its finances. Period. It was a short, simple, and brilliant FOI bill.

After prodding from the Liberal Party-led Malacañan, Leni filed a revised FOI bill [HB 3237] on October 2013, a mere two months after she filed HB 19. The new bill, while still about Freedom of Information, is but a toothless shadow of its predecessor.

The 15-page HB 3237, or the revised Robredo FOI bill, included a two-page section entitled “Exceptions”, is what made her new FOI bill lose its teeth. Leni’s HB 3237, while including the wording of HB 19, includes PNoy’s executive privilege as a legitimate excuse for withholding information from the public.

As you can see, I have included links to your mom’s HB 19 and HB 3237. If you’ve actually read those two bills, the difference between them should be undeniably obvious. This is why I do not understand where you’re coming from.

Or is it because of cognitive bias on your part because I grilled your mom?

If not, let me borrow the words of your mom’s endorser as I say, “Shut up ka na lang.”

B: Second, on TP’s anonymity and unreachability

Let's talk about anonymity muna. From the onset, TP chose to be “sufficiently anonymous” for several reasons:

First, TP does NOT provide first-hand information, so that dubious premises are best verified by contacting TP’s sources, whose contact information can be easily obtained.

Second, TP had his personal security to consider. I write about topics that most major news and op-ed organizations wouldn’t even dare to write (or are incapable of writing due to lower neuron count).

I actually received death threats when I wrote the Trillanes-Magdalo Hacker article [TP] tapos partida, anonymous pa ako ng lagay na yan, kaya paano na lang kung hindi? I even had to call several people to get a request for a Writ of Amparo drafted, just in case I go missing. Yung partido nga ng nanay mo, dinededma ang mga extrajudicial killings ng mga katutubong kritiko ng minahan sa Mindanao [Karapatan], o e pano pa akong may malaking audience? Aika, your father was one of the greatest Filipinos who ever lived in the past two decades, and I consider him to be a prime example of what Filipinos should aspire to be. But look at him, dead at such an early age, at DILG secretary pa yan [TP: Narcopolitics], at ang masama pa dyan, puchu-puchu na imbestigasyon lang ang ginawa.

Third, because I do not yearn for validation. I created ThinkingPinoy to provide the public with a different way to view issues of national importance. I do not give a shit about not being recognized. If I did, I would have resorted to half-researched articles that would’ve gotten me far more traffic than I get.

Nine months old na ang TP but I only have 50,000 likes because I purposely decided to stick to facts, so my content is far less interesting than other sites.

First, I have a message button on my Facebook page and anyone can contact me. I have actually granted two interviews with Cherie Mercado on Radyo5 (TV5’s radio arm) in December 2015 and in May 2016. Yes, I can be reached for feedback.

I have criticized five of the six presidential candidates, so that leaves the late Roy Señeres. So logic dictates na black propagandist ako ni Señeres?

Susmarya Aika, umayos ka nga.

Third, I think it’s a given that I leaned towards the Duterte camp during the elections. However, that didn’t mean that they are immune from my critiques. Just a couple of weeks ago, I wrote a disparaging article against Duterte’s communications group.

Guni-guni mo lang yan Aika.

Epilogue

Aika, ThinkingPinoy is not news site in the traditional sense of the word and it never claimed to be one. Instead, it’s a collection of well-researched observations by a regular Filipino who happens to be gifted with lots of common sense.

If you’ll take a closer look, I describe TP as “A Thinking Pinoy's take on the latest issues in Philippine Politics, with a dash of common sense, Pinoy flavor.”

Now, which part of that description suggested that I am an Inquirer-wannabe?

Guni-guni mo lang yan, Aika.

And just because we’re already at it, are you telling me that you base your Philippine Political reality solely on what the big networks tell you because they have hordes of editors and writers?

But if you insist on posting irresponsible public comments, I sincerely suggest that you drop by the Ateneo and get a refund. Sayang e.

TP: O siya, maglalaba na ako

UPDATE: My readers are asking why I bothered to rebut something that simple. I answered,"It comes from the daughter of the vice president, that's what made it matter. Kung asungot lang yan sa kanto, dedma."

About ThinkingPinoy

ThinkingPinoy, its contents, and its associated social media accounts were created, published, and maintained solely by ThinkingPinoy (TP) in his personal capacity. TP is not officially affiliated with any political party. Unless otherwise specified, the opinions expressed in this website and its associated social media accounts are TP’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of any particular political party.